ALBANY—Dean Skelos could hardly hide his smirk as he threw cold water on a bill to let New York City lower its speed limit to 25 m.p.h., an authorization Mayor Bill de Blasio needs to implement the Vision Zero program to prevent traffic deaths.

“I don't know if it will be on the floor,” Skelos told reporters after a press conference. “That's one of the things that we will be discussing. I know how important it is to Mayor de Blasio and he's certainly one of my best friends.”

Unlike Michael Bloomberg, who was Skelos' most generous political benefactor, de Blasio has publicly committed to ousting Republicans from their perch in the state Senate leadership.

MORE ON CAPITAL

ADVERTISEMENT

Skelos' sudden reluctance is one of many ripples through this legislative session emanating from the Working Families Party's political convention last month, when Governor Andrew Cuomo promised to help oust Republicans—he called them “ultracons”—in a deal de Blasio helped broker.

Paul Steely White, executive director of the group Transportation Alternatives, said Skelos' comments “seem to speak to the transactional nature of Albany politics” that he hoped the speed limit will would “transcend.”

“We're confident it will pass,” said White. “People upstate, downstate and on both sides of the aisle understand that speeding is the biggest killer on our streets and we need a lower speed limit for the densest pedestrian city in our country.”

Skelos, for his part, hardly denied his motives. He turned away from reporters after the sarcastic comment about his friendship, but not after Capital asked whether politics were influencing his decision.